Zach Galifianakis Movies

Jake Gyllenhaal, the young star of the critically well-received October Sky (1999), follows up that film with this offbeat comedy. Gyllenhaal stars as Jimmy Livingston, a teenager with an immune system deficiency who has spent his entire life living in a plastic bubble under the doting, overprotective care of his mother (Swoosie Kurtz). Jimmy is in love with his next-door neighbor Chloe (Marley Shelton), so when he learns that she has left for Niagara Falls in order to be married, he's devastated. He quickly assembles a portable "bubble suit" and sets out on a 2,755.8-mile odyssey in order to stop her and proclaim his affection. Along the way, Jimmy experiences a number of adventures, including encounters with freaks, bikers, rock stars, and a cult. Bubble Boy is a comic riff on the classic TV movie The Boy in the Plastic Bubble (1976), which starred a young John Travolta. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Two time Oscar-winning visual effects artist Hoyt Yeatman makes his feature directorial debut with this Jerry Bruckheimer-produced family film following a group of highly trained guinea pigs on their mission to prevent an evil billionaire from taking over the world. Beginning in the Civil War -- when carrier pigeons delivered messages from the front lines -- the American government has been covertly training animals to work in espionage. The latest government program is a clandestine espionage team known as "G-Force," which includes a team of ultra-intelligent guinea pigs who share 98.7 percent of their DNA with humans. Comprised of unpredictable weapons expert Blaster (voice of Tracy Morgan), alluring martial arts expert Juarez (voice of Penélope Cruz), stealthy reconnaissance expert Mooch, and a star-nosed mole named Speckles (voice of Nicolas Cage), who specializes in computers, this crack team of agents is fronted by heroic squad leader Darwin (voice of Sam Rockwell). When a deranged billionaire hatches a plan to control the entire planet through common household appliances, the G-Force leaps into action on a mission to ensure that he does not succeed. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Into the Wild is writer/director Sean Penn's adaptation of the popular book by Jon Krakauer, a nonfiction account of the post-collegiate wanderings of a young Virginia man, who divorces himself from his friends, family, and possessions in search of a greater spiritual knowledge and communion with nature. Upon his 1990 graduation from Emory University in Atlanta, Christopher McCandless (Emile Hirsch) walks away from a loving if dysfunctional family and sends his nearly 25,000-dollar life savings to Oxfam International. Instead of the normal life his parents planned for him, Chris rechristens himself "Alexander Supertramp" and heads west in his beaten-up automobile until it no longer runs, at which point he takes up hitchhiking. The goal on the horizon? Alaska. By hook or by crook -- but without his limited cash, which he symbolically sets aflame -- Chris/Alexander determines to make it to his personal promised land, with stops along the way to experience America and its people. These adventures include a kayak trip down dangerous rapids, a gig working in a grain mill, extended stays with a hippie couple and a kindly old widower -- and enough cold, hunger, and exhaustion to leave him emotionally defeated more than once. Meanwhile, his parents (William Hurt and Marcia Gay Harden) and sister (Jena Malone) haven't received so much as a postcard from him, and begin to fear the worst. Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder composed the contemplative soundtrack. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide

Four wacky guys take on a pack of rich stuffed shirts (does this premise sound at all familiar?) in this broad comedy. Rick (Jason London) is a slobby but good-natured snowboarder who is mending a broken heart after splitting up with Anna (Caroline Dhavernas), a girl he met while on vacation in Mexico. Rick has headed back to Bull Mountain, AK, where he and his buddies Luke (Zach Galifianakis), Anthony (Flex Alexander), and Pig Pen (Derek Hamilton) spend their days riding the slopes and their nights partying hard. Rick and his pals hope to someday open a hangout for fellow boarders, but after Papa Muntz, the city's founder and largest landowner, passes on, his son Ted (Willie Garson) sells most of his property to John Majors (Lee Majors), a wealthy but pompous developer who wants to convert Bull Mountain into Snownook, an upscale ski resort catering to yuppies. Determined to keep Bull Mountain safe for like-minded burnouts and radical skiers, Rick and the gang declare war against Majors and his associates, though Rick feels a bit conflicted by the fact that John is Anna's father -- and his daughter is tagging along with her father as he relocates to Alaska. Anna, however, has a rival for Rick's attention, as Jenny (A.J. Cook), a cute ski bum, has shown her interest in him. Out Cold was the first feature film from sibling directorial team Brendan Malloy and Emmett Malloy, who previously worked in television commercials and created several snowboarding videos. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Four comics take their offbeat brand of humor on the road in this blend of performance video and backstage documentary. Patton Oswalt, best known for his recurring role on the sitcom The King of Queens, wanted to stage a tour doing his standup material, but was hoping to avoid the strictures of time and material he ran into when playing comedy clubs. Looking for an alternative, he teamed up with friends and fellow humorists Brian Posehn (a former regular on Mr. Show and Just Shoot Me), Maria Bamford (who does cartoon voices in her spare time), and Zach Galifianakis (the star of a short-lived talk show on VH1), and booked a string of dates at rock clubs and college campuses across the country. The Comedians of Comedy features highlights from all four performers' best sets, as well as a glimpse of the ups and downs of life on the road and how they spend their spare time at home. The Comedians of Comedy also provided the jumping-off point for a Comedy Central television series featuring the same four artists. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Comedians of Comedy: Live at the Troubadour features a night of comedy consisting of over a dozen of the most creative stand-up comics in the country. Filmed before an appreciative crowd at the famous L.A. venue, the program features performances by Zach Galifianakis, Patton Oswalt, David Cross, Bob Odenkirk, Dana Gould, Andy Kindler, and many others. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

In the opening episode of Tru Calling's first season, impoverished medical grad student Tru Davies (Eliza Dushku) takes a night-shift job at a Boston morgue. In short order, she discovers that she has the ability to communicate with one of the corpses -- which leads to the discovery of another gift, that of being able to relive the events of the past 24 hours, and thereby save the corpse from an untimely death. While this state of affairs is beneficial to those on the slab, it sometimes posed serious and potentially fatal problems for Tru, her chronic-gambler brother, Harrison (Shawn Reaves); her drug-addicted sister Meredith (Jessica Collins); and her boss and co-worker, Davis (Zach Galifianakis). There are several standout episodes during season one of Tru Calling. In "The Longest Day," Tru's efforts to rescue one of her "clients" results in a Groundhog Day dilemma in which the same day is repeated over and over, with no end in sight. In "Valentine," Tru tries to arrange past events to thwart a serial killer, only to set up a premise whereby one of her best friends will be the killer's next victim. In "Past Tense," our heroine really has her hands full when five corpses simultaneously beg for her help. And in the season finale, "Two Weddings and a Funeral," Tru battles with her archrival, Jack Harper (Jason Priestley) -- who possesses the same psychic "gift" that she has, only to use it for sinister purposes -- with the life of her own brother in the balance. ~ All Movie Guide

Juno's Jason Reitman heads into corporate America territory once again with this adaptation of Walter Kirn's novel Up in the Air for Montecito Pictures. The plot surrounds a human resource administrator (George Clooney) whose life up in the friendly skies becomes his only world as he works to reach his one-millionth frequent flyer mile. Jason Bateman and Vera Farmiga co-star in the Paramount Pictures production. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

Two strangers (Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher) find themselves hitched after a wild night of Las Vegas shenanigans in this 20th Century Fox comedy. Jack Fuller (Kutcher) is a single Manhattanite who can never quite commit to a permanent, long-term relationship and repeatedly hears from his lovers that he "isn't serious boyfriend material." Employed by his father (Treat Williams) at a local furniture business, Jack spends his workdays goofing off by watching sporting events behind dad's back. Joy McNally (Diaz) is faring slightly better; a young, polished urbanite, she juggles a demanding job as a trader on the NYSE with a marital engagement to the impressive Mason (Jason Sudeikis), but has modified her entire life and all of her interests to please her intended.

Coincident with Mr. Fuller's decision to fire his son, Mason severs his engagement to Joy; as a result, both Jack and Joy hit the skids at around the same time and decide to cut their losses by heading out to Vegas. The two accidentally bump into one another when a computer mix-up at the hotel puts them in adjoining rooms; though they begin their acquaintanceship by bickering endlessly, they end up spending a long, drunken night on the town together, and when the sun rises and Joy comes to, she discovers that she unwittingly married Jack in the middle of the night. Alas, just when the two are about to call it quits by filing for divorce after the shortest marriage in history, Jack tosses a coin into a Vegas slot machine and hits a three-million-dollar jackpot -- which naturally pits the newlyweds against one another in an attempt to claim the full share of the money. A conservative local judge, R.D. Whopper (Dennis Miller), then adds the final twist by refusing to grant a divorce until Joy and Jack have given married life a fair shake. In time, the marrieds may just discover that this union isn't as far off the mark as they initially thought. Dennis Farina, Queen Latifah, and Zach Galifianakis round out the supporting cast. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

Idiosyncratic stand-up comic Zach Galifianakis brings his wry brand of piano-based non-sequiturs to the stage of San Francisco's famed Purple Onion comedy club, and the cameras roll to catch every offbeat moment for this release that's sure to keep die-hard fans doubled over in laughter, and everyone else scratching their heads in giddy bemusement. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide